Serum Interleukin 17 in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

The type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may alter the function of immune cells and produce inflammation, which is chronic, low grade and associated with insulin resistance The aim of this study was to compare interleukin 17 (IL-17) level in T2DM and healthy control, and evaluate the relationship between IL-17 and anthropometric and laboratory characteristics of diabetic patients. A case-control study was carried out on 32 patients with T2DM (16 males and 16 females, aged 52.1 ± 8.0 years) who were hospitalized in Imam Reza hospital of AJA University of Medical Sciences for diabetes side effects, and 29 healthy control individuals (15 males and 14 females, aged 48.0 ± 8.6 years). Fasting blood sugar (FBS) was assessed colorimetrically by the GOD-POD method, and serum insulin and IL-17 levels were measured by ELISA method. Statistical analysis of the Student's t-test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used. The serum concentration of IL-17 was significantly higher in the patients with T2DM than in the controls (P = 0.002). It was also significantly higher in both male (P = 0.048) and female (P = 0.003) patients with T2DM than in their related controls. It was also significantly higher in the female than the male T2DM patients (P = 0.001). IL-17 level significantly correlated with age (r = 0.495, P = 0.001), body max index (BMI) (r = 0.347, P = 0.014), fasting blood sugar (r = 0.335, P = 0.043), insulin resistance (r = 0.338, P = 0.043), waist circumference (r = 0.329, P = 0.029) and insulin (r = 0.36, P = 0.025). It seems that patients with T2DM - especially females - have significantly higher IL-17 level and it correlates with age, insulin resistance, FBS, BMI and waist circumference.